Debunking Venezuelan Victory Videos and AI Images of Nicolás Maduro.

Computer-created graphics purporting to depict Venezuela's president in custody after his capture by the United States have amassed countless of impressions online.

How AI Images of the President Appeared Within Hours

The first inauthentic synthetic picture seemingly showing him being escorted off a plane emerged a brief time later. This image was absent from any verified American sources; it was instead uploaded on X by an profile describing itself as an “enthusiast of AI-generated art”.

We’ve checked the SynthID tool, determining the image was generated or edited with AI tools.

Further AI-generated images were disseminated in the subsequent period, seemingly depicting more angles of the leader detained. Discernible watermarks on the graphics indicate they came from an Instagram account named ultravfx.

The detection tool says all of these images were similarly produced using Google AI.

Real Photo Released but Fabrications Persisted

The former US president shared the first real photo of Nicolás Maduro in handcuffs aboard the USS Iwo Jima on Saturday morning. However, despite the authentic image was published, synthetic images persisted online but were altered to include the grey athletic wear worn by Maduro.

Online investigation indicate the new fake images were originally uploaded on the video platform by a digital art account. Once again, analysis found these further images were generated or edited Google AI.

Key Points:

• AI-generated content spread rapidly after the events of the president's apprehension.
• The initial fabricated picture appeared within hours on social media.
• Detection software like Google’s SynthID were used to verify the images as inauthentic.
• Fake images persisted to spread and evolve even after the publication of authentic photographs.
• The source of several fabricated images was traced to social media profiles dedicated to AI art.